^aJesus left there and came to ^bHis hometown Nazareth; and His disciples followed Him. Matt 13:54-58; Luke 4:16, 23 2 When the Sabbath came, He began ^ato teach in the synagogue; and ^bmany who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things this knowledge and spiritual insight? What is this wisdom this confident understanding of the Scripture that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not ^athe carpenter, ^1bthe son of Mary, and the brother of ²James and Joses and ³Judas and Simon? Are ^cHis sisters not here with us?” And they were deeply ^doffended by Him and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah. 4 Jesus said to them, “^aA prophet is not without honor (respect) except in ^bhis hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could not do a miracle there at all because of their unbelief except that He ^alaid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 He wondered at their unbelief.

^aAnd He was going around in the villages teaching.

7 ^aAnd ^bHe called the twelve disciples and began to send them out as His special messengers ^ctwo by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits. 8 ^aHe told them to take nothing for the journey except a mere walking stick—no bread, no traveler’s bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals; and He told them not to wear ¹two tunics. 10 And He told them, “Wherever you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, ^1ashake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message.” Matt 10:14; Acts 13:51 12 So ^athey went out and preached that men should repent that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives. 13 And they were casting out many demons and ^awere anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

14 ^aKing Herod Antipas heard about this, for Jesus’ name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, “^bJohn the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is ^1aElijah!” And others were saying, “It is ^ba prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!”

17 For Herod himself had sent guards and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of ^1aHerodias, the wife of his half- brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her. Matt 14:3; Luke 3:19 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “^aIt is not lawful under Mosaic Law for you to have your brother’s wife.” Lev 18:16; 20:21 19 ^aHerodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not, 20 because ^aHerod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John speak, he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him. 21 But an opportune time finally came for Herodias. Herod on his birthday ^agave a banquet for his officials (nobles, courtiers) and ¹military commanders and the leading men ^bof Galilee. 22 Now Salome the daughter of ^aHerodias came in and danced for the men. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the ¹girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you; ¹up to ^ahalf of my kingdom.” Esth 5:3, 6 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And Herodias replied, “The head of John the Baptist!” 25 And she rushed back to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter!” 26 The king was deeply grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests who might have regarded him as weak, he was unwilling to break his word and refuse her. 27 So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John’s head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John’s body and laid it in a tomb.

30 ^aThe ^bapostles who had been sent out on a mission gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while”—for there were many people who were continually coming and going, and ^athey could not even find time to eat. 32 ^aAnd they went away by themselves in ^bthe boat to a secluded place. Matt 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13 33 Many people saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the surrounding cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He ^asaw a large crowd waiting, and He was moved with compassion for them because ^bthey were like sheep without a shepherd lacking guidance; and He began to teach them many things. 35 When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it is already late; 36 send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But He replied, “You give them something to eat!” ^aAnd they asked Him, “Shall we go and buy 200 ^1bdenarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 2+@Kin 4:42-44 38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five loaves, and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots. 41 Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and ^asaid a blessing of praise and thanksgiving to the Father. Then He broke the loaves and repeatedly gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 And the disciples picked up twelve full ^abaskets of the broken pieces of the loaves, and of the fish. 44 Those who ate the loaves were ^afive thousand men not counting the women and children.

45 ^aJesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into ^bthe boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to ^cBethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd. Matt 14:22-32; John 6:15-21 46 And after He ^asaid goodbye to them, He went ^bto the mountain to pray.

47 Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the ^afourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And acted as if He intended to pass by them. Matt 14:25; John 6:19 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out in horror; 50 for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, “^aTake courage! It is I (I AM) ! ^bStop being afraid.” Ex 3:14 51 Then He got into ^athe boat with them, and the wind ceased as if exhausted by its own activity; and they were completely overwhelmed, 52 because ^athey had not understood the miracle of the loaves how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus; but in fact their heart ^bwas hardened being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works.

53 ^aWhen they had crossed over the sea, they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore. 54 They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him, 55 and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was. 56 And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him to allow them just to ^atouch ^bthe fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

^aJesus went out from there and *came into ^1bHis hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began ^ato teach in the synagogue; and ¹the ^bmany listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such ²miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not ^athe carpenter, ^bthe son of Mary and brother of ¹James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are ^cHis sisters not here with us?” And they took ^doffense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “^aA prophet is not dishonored except in ^1bhis hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” 5 And He could not do any ¹miracle there except that He ^alaid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief.

^aAnd He was going around the villages, teaching.

7 ^aAnd ^bHe *summoned the twelve and began to send them out ^cin pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 ^aand He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no ¹bag, no money in their belt— 9 but ¹to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear two ²tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you ¹leave town. 11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, ^ashake the dust ¹off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 ^aAnd they went out and ¹preached that people are to repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and ^awere anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

14 ^aAnd King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “^bJohn the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is ^aElijah.” And others were saying, “He is ^ba prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

17 For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of ^aHerodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “^aIt is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And ^aHerodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; 20 for ^aHerod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he ¹used to enjoy listening to him. 21 An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, ^aheld a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people ^bof Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of ^aHerodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ¹his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to ^ahalf of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and ¹his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.

30 ^aThe ^bapostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and ^athey did not even have time to eat.) 32 ^aAnd they went away in ^bthe boat to a secluded place by themselves.

33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ¹ashore, He ^asaw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because ^bthey were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “¹This place is secluded and it is already late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves ¹something to eat.” 37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” ^aAnd they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred ^1bdenarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. 40 They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ^ablessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied; 43 and they picked up twelve full ^abaskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. 44 There were ^afive thousand ¹men who ate the loaves.

45 ^aAnd immediately Jesus had His disciples get into ^bthe boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to ^cBethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd. 46 And after ^asaying goodbye to them, He left ^bfor the mountain to pray.

47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them ¹straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the ^2afourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were ¹terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “^aTake courage; it is I, ^bdo not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into ^athe boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for ^athey ¹had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but ²their hearts ^bwere hardened.

53 ^aWhen they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, ¹to wherever they heard He was. 56 And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just ^atouch ^bthe fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being ¹healed.

^aAnd ¹Jesus went out from there and *came into ^2bHis hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began ^ato teach in the synagogue; and ^bmany listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such ¹miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this man not ^athe carpenter, ^bthe son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not ^cHis sisters here with us?” And they were taking ^doffense at Him. 4 And Jesus was saying to them, “^aA prophet is not without honor except in ^1bhis hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no ¹miracle there except that He ^alaid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief.

^aAnd He was going around the villages teaching.

7 ^aAnd ^bHe *summoned the twelve and began to send them out ^cin pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 ^aand He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no ¹bag, no money in their belt— 9 but ¹to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two ²tunics.” 10 And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you ¹leave town. 11 And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, ^ashake the dust ¹off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 ^aAnd they went out and ¹preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and ^awere anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

14 ^aAnd King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “^bJohn the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is ^aElijah.” And others were saying, “He is ^ba prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of ^aHerodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “^aIt is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 ^aNow Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able; 20 for ^aHerod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; ¹but he ²used to enjoy listening to him. 21 And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday ^agave a banquet for his great men and ¹military commanders and the leading men ^bof Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of ^aHerodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ¹his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to ^ahalf of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of ¹his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

30 ^aAnd the ^bapostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and ^athey did not even have time to eat.) 32 ^aAnd they went away in ^bthe boat to a desolate place by themselves.

33 And the people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 And when Jesus went ¹ashore, He ^asaw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because ^bthey were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and began saying, “¹This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves ¹something to eat.” 37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat!” ^aAnd they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred ^1bdenarii on bread and give them something to eat?” 38 And He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He commanded them all to ¹sit down by ²groups on the green grass. 40 And they ¹sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ^ablessed the food and broke the loaves. And He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve full ^abaskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. 44 And there were ^afive thousand men who ate the loaves.

45 ^aAnd immediately Jesus made His disciples get into ^bthe boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to ^cBethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 And after ^abidding them farewell, He left ^bfor the mountain to pray.

47 And when it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 And seeing them ¹straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the ^2afourth watch of the night He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He was intending to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were ¹terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “^aTake courage; it is I, ^bdo not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into ^athe boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were ¹utterly amazed, 52 for ^athey ¹had not gained any insight about the loaves, but their ²heart ^bwas hardened.

53 ^aAnd when they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that whole region and began to carry here and there on their mats those who were sick, to ¹the place they heard He was. 56 And wherever He was entering villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading with Him that they might just ^atouch ^bthe fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were being ¹saved from their sicknesses.